Pruning your roses keeps them healthy and blooming beautifully. In springtime, keep an eye on your roses. When you notice leaf buds appearing and beginning to swell, you'll know it's time to prune. How you prune depends on the types of roses you're growing.
Here are some basic rules to follow.
For hybrid tea roses
Prune sturdy stalks to between 6 and 10 inches from the base or graft.
This will encourage strong, single stem roses perfect for cutting.
For all other roses
Prune out dead growth and branches that rub against neighboring branches.
Prune off any old heads that formed flowers or “hips” last year.
Prune to shape into a form that's pleasing to your eye.
Prune to remove old, woody, branchy growth. This will strengthen the new growth, which will in turn bear larger flowers.
Prune above any bud that is positioned where you would like a stem to grow.
When pruning
Sterilize your tools between roses, to avoid the risk of spreading diseases. Use a 10-percent bleach solution or 70-percent rubbing alcohol.
Feed all your roses at this time with an all purpose fertilizer to promote healthy green growth.
Switch to a bloom fertilizer in mid-May to promote flower development.
Ask a Petree's expert for fertilizer recommendations.
You can also check out our page breaking down the meaning of the N-P-K numbers on fertilizer packaging.
